–Guyana says Venezuela crisis should be discussed at OAS

THE GOVERNMENT of Guyana on Monday said while it stands ready to assist the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during their ongoing crises, it will not be partisan and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge said no formal requests have been made by Caracas.
The two countries despite their differences usually communicate via diplomatic channels specific to Ambassadorial exchanges or the use of Notes Verbale to send messages and requests. And while assistance where needed will be provided to the Venezuelan government, Greenidge was quick to note that Guyana’s assistance should not indicate an automatic agreement with the Venezuelan government’s policies. Rather, he believes that Guyana could provide more effective assistance if it dealt fairly with all sides. “The Government of Guyana has no desire to compound the problems of Venezuela by joining one or other of the protagonists,” the Minister said.
Last week, Venezuela’s ambassador to Guyana, Reina Diaz called on the government and people of Guyana to support her country’s President Nicholas Maduro in his call for dialogue with the opposition, so as to end the ongoing unrests there. The call by Guyana’s Spanish-speaking neighbour comes at a time when the United Nations has restarted the Good Offices Process between the two countries to bring to finality the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. Venezuela has claimed ownership of two-thirds of Guyana.
The Ambassador in her plea said her country’s President is doing all he can to have a democratic resolution to the months of riots and violence occurring in the Spanish-speaking country and she believes that support from the government of Guyana, other regional governments and international bodies will aid in the reduction of what she described as acts of terrorism from radical opposition supporters. “We are grateful for the support of the

governments of this region and governments of the world to respect that no ill will is shown by the State. We are grateful for a show of support for dialogue which the government has asked as a means of solving internal problems,” said Ambassador Diaz, who spoke through a translator.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Greenidge said Guyana is prepared to assist CARICOM member states and immediate neighbours where appropriate and when asked. Last year, Guyana had convened a meeting of non-governmental organizations and the private sector in the country to consider the deteriorating conditions in Venezuela. However, at the time, the Venezuelan Government was not open to receiving any material assistance that was being offered.
However, on May 25, Ambassador Diaz was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she indicated that Venezuela could benefit from Guyana’s support at international fora. Based on her request, Minister Greenidge has committed to communicating same to his government while assuring that the matter would be given the requisite attention.
Greenidge noted too that Guyana’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Dr. Riyad Insanally, is the current Chair of the CARICOM group to the OAS and believes that it would be appropriate to discuss the crisis at the level of the OAS. He is also of the opinion that there needs to be more dialogue on the ongoing events in Venezuela among stakeholders, including the government and opposition. Additionally, the Minister said Guyana, as a member of the Community of Caribbean and Latin American States (CELAC) met with members to resolve Venezuela’s deteriorating situation as well as the one between its Government and Opposition. This was also done at the level of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).